1. Latin America
By: Grace Cox

2. Sierra Madre Occidental
This mountain range is located in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona
These mountains measure 932 miles in length and 150 miles in width
They are apart of the American Cordillera which is a chain of mountain ranges that are almost a continuous order that runs from western North America, Central America, South America, and Antarctica
The Sierra Madre’s climate is warm and damp from each side; they have two wet seasons and two dry seasons every year

3. Andes Mountains The Sierra Andes are located in Latin America
They run along the entire western coast of South America
These are the second highest mountain range (Himalayas being the first)
These mountains stretch over 4,400 miles from southern Argentina and Chile to northern Colombia; they also sneak over into Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador
The climate in these mountains is a little jumbled up; the southern part is rainy and cool and the central Andes are dry. The northern part is rainy and warm and it’s temperature stays at about 64°

4. Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas
This sea is located in the Atlantic Ocean
It runs 620 miles along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras
This sea is approximately 25,216 ft.
The Caribbean sea is located north of South America and southeast of North America and Mexico

5. Panama Canal
Waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean
The Panama Canal is manmade
It was created to shorten long trips for large boats with large loads
The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama
It is a key channel for international maritime* trade
Measures 48 miles in length
*maritime: related to the sea, especially in relation to seafaring commercial or military activity.

6. Gulf of Mexico
This gulf is mainly surrounded by the North American continent
The Gulf of Mexico was formed approximately 300 years ago as a result of plate tectonics
It’s climate consists of humid subtropical weather but the little southwestern part of Florida experiences a tropical climate
The five U.S states that border the gulf are Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas
The Gulf of Mexico is south of the U.S, west of Mexico, and southeast of South America

7. Amazon River
The Amazon River measures 4,345 meters length and averages 20 to 50 meters in depth; in some places it has been measured to 100 meters deep
This river is located in South America and almost runs across the entire top part of the continent
The river runs through Guyana, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru
Over 3,000 known fish species that live in the river’s waters
The biggest snake that lives in the Amazon area is the Anaconda which lurks in the shallow waters of the Amazon River

8. Amazon Rainforest
How big is this rainforest? million mi² to be exact
This rainforest is located in South America
The rainforest is bordered by Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana
The Amazon Rainforest receives 80 inches – even 430 inches in some places – of rainfall each year
More than 20% of the world’s oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest

9. Atacama Desert This desert is located in Chile, South America
It stretches 600 miles; all they from Peru’s southern border into northern Chile
This desert is one of the driest places on earth but people still manage to live and work here
The climate for this dry place is surprisingly 0-25 degrees Celsius
The temperatures during the day can up to 55 degrees Celsius while at night, it can drop to 0 degrees Celsius

10. Cuba Cuba is located in North America
It is south of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of Jamaica
Cuba is a Caribbean island
This country is under communist rule
The climate here is an average of 77° in the winter and 88° in the summer
The average rainfall here is 48.9 inches every year

11. Haiti Haiti is located in North America
Haiti is southwest of the U.S, north of South America, and northwest of Mexico
They have a hot and humid, tropical climate
Haiti’s capitol is Port-au-Prince

12. Panama
Panama is located on an *Isthmus connecting Central America and South America
The Panama Canal cuts through this country
Panama’s capitol is Panama City (how creative)
It is bordered by Costa Rice (west), Colombia (southeast), the Caribbean Sea (north), and the Pacific Ocean (south)
Panama drives on the right side just like we do in the U.S
*Isthmus: a narrow strip of land that has sea on each side, forming a connection between two larger areas of land.

13. Colombia Colombia is located at the northern tip of South America
It’s capitol is Bogota
The climate there is very warm and tropical, temperatures vary little during the year because of how close they are to the equator
Colombia is apart of the Ring of Fire
Coffee is a heavily consumed drink there and when you drink your coffee, you always have to drop a cube of salty cheese in there too (yuck!)

14. Venezuela Venezuela is located on the northern coast of South America
It’s capitol is Caracas
Their official language is Spanish
The climate there is humid lowlands to cool lowlands with an average temperature of 69°F
Venezuela receives about 32 inches of rainfall every year; mainly rains from April to December

15. Bolivia Bolivia is located in Central South America
It’s capitol is Sucre
The climate in Bolivia is tropical with an average temperature of 86°F
Bolivia has 6 regions: The Andes, the Altiplano, the Yungas, the highland valleys, the Gran Chaco, and the tropical lowlands
This country’s favorite sport is known to be Futbol, which is very different from soccer and very interesting

16. Chile Chile is located on the edge of western South America
It’s capitol is Santiago
The official language is Spanish
The country Chile was founded by Pedro de Valdivia
Chile measures 248 miles in length

17. Brazil Brazil is located in South America
Brazil is the largest country in South America with 5,328,161 miles of land
The climate there varies from hot and dry to humid and sticky and the temperature rarely drops below 68°F
The founder of this large country is Pedro Cabral
Rio de Janeiro, a popular city in Brazil, was the place where the 2016 Summer Olympics took place

18. Air Pollution, In Mexico City!
The air pollution in Mexico City is extremely bad for your health and the atmosphere. This air hurts your lungs and damages your breathing. It also causes asthma, kills plants, and stops photosynthesis It is cause by car fumes, factory fumes, and all the other crud floating in the air. The way to fix these problems would be to carpool, limit the amount of fumes factories put out, and to filter the air (filters and scrubbers)

19. Deforestation, In The Amazon!
We all love the Amazon Rainforest, exotic animals, beautiful plants, and most importantly, trees. These trees that we don’t pay much attention to, give us oxygen so that we can breathe and live our lives. The Amazon Rainforest has been significantly damaged with 70% of it destroyed. It’s trees are being cut down to find meat and for wood purposes. Animals are losing their homes and soon, we will too; so how to we that? We should lessen the construction and probably stop cutting down trees altogether. If that is not an option, than we should either plant more trees, only cut down certain areas, or focus more of the money on trees.

20. Oil Pollution, In Venezuela!
Oil pollution is terrible for our waters, sea animals, and us. The oil that leaks into our waters kills plants and animals that live in the contaminated areas. The contaminated water can leak into our water sources and hurt us as well. The way to fix these spills is to keep factories away from water, travel in a way that keeps the oil in the containers, and use less oil. I mean c’mon people, do we really need to use that much oil?